Carrier for photographic materials



Oct. 15, 1968 W. w. BUECHNER 3,405,628

CARRIER FOR PHOTOGRAPHIC MATERIALS Original Filed Feb. 3, 1964 INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,405,628 CARRIER FOR PHOTOGRAPHIC MATERIALS Werner W. Buechner, 4407 Cladding Court, Midland, Mich. 48640 Continuation of application Ser. No. 342,028, Feb. 3, 1964, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 52,524, Aug. 29, 1960. This application June 26, 1967, Ser. No. 649,059

' 16 Claims. (Cl. 95-100) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A carrier for photographic material in limp form for developing. The carrier is formed of a backrest provided with vertical grooves at both vertical ends of the backrest. Horizontal grooves are also provided at the bottom of the backrest. An agitation support device is used to support the carrier during the agitation process.

This application is a continuation of application Ser.

No. 342,028, filed Feb. 3, 1964, and now abandoned, which was a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 52,524, filed Aug. 29, 1960, now Patent No. 3,236,649.

This invention relates to novel carrier means for photographic materials and more specifically to carriers, useful in the treatment of photographic sheet materials.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a carrier which is adapted for the treatment of plane sheets of photographic materials in liquid treating and/ or washing media.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a carrier for paperbacked photographic sheet materials which provides for the expansion of the paper sheets when they are contacted with the treating medium.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a carrier which is adapted to be used with particular advantage for the treatment of photographic color materials in multistep developing and/or aftertreating processes by professional or amateur photographers.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a carrier which is particularly useful in photographic developing and treating apparatus, having means for automatic mechanical agitation and/ or automatic forwarding of the sheet material from step to step.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a carrier for the treatment in a standard size vessel of a sheet of photographic sheet material which is larger than the standard sheet.

Other objects will become apparent as the description of the invention proceeds.

The objects of the invention are achieved by the provision of a carrier which carrier comprises at least one backrest for the sheets of photographic material.

The carrier of the invention may be adapted to hold one or a multiplicity of sheets. It may be designed for the support of only one standard size sheet by the provision of stationary holding or supporting means or, if desired, it may be adapted for the support of sheets of photographic materials of varying sizes and shapes up to the standard size, or optionally up to double the standard size, by the provision of adjustable holding or supporting means for the sheet or sheets on or at the carrier.

The said holding means may be formed by channel members joined to the said support means, such as the frame-like structure or to the backrest, so as to form grooves or groove sections capable of receiving the edges or margin portions of the photographic sheet material. Alternatively, the frame-like structure, preferably in combination with netting or other structures formed from filamentary material, may directly serve as the holding means. The holding means may also be formed by ad hesives or adhesive carrying materials provided on or at the support means or auxiliary means provided on or at the support means.

Another embodiment of the carrier of the invention comprises two or more basic supporting units which are combined to form a composite carrier capable of holding any desired number of sheets of photographic material up to ten or twenty or more sheets as desired. The units in the composite carrier may with advantage be pivotably mounted so as to permit the opening of the carrier for the convenient insertion and/or removal of the sheet from the carrier, or the units may be adapted to 'be stacked so as to form the composite carrier.

The embodiments of the carrier enumerated hereinbefore are especially useful for the photographic treatment of limp photographic sheet materials and particularly of paperbacked sheet materials, though any of these embodiments of the carrier is equally suitable for the treatment of other photographic sheet materials such as sheet films or plates.

The carrier of the invention comprises in addition to the truly plane embodiments also curved embodiments of the carrier, particularly those having a regular partial vertical cylindrical curvature, i.e. a curvature, extending between the vertical edges of the carrier. The sheet ma terial, when it is contained on this modification of the carrier, has generally also a regular curved configuration. Both the curved carrier and curved sheet are intended to fall, in accordance with the present invention, under the terminology plane carrier and plane sheet. The sheet of photographic materials is preferably placed on the concave side of the curved carrier.

Another embodiment of the carrier is specifically adapted to be used with roll film or film strips. Continuous length of film can be readily Wound on the carrier, which comprises 'a frame-like support and on opposing edges thereof means adapted to hold and support the individual windings of the film by its unexposed edges only, so as not to interfere with the treatment of the portions of the film contained in the bent portions. Similarly, another embodiment of the carrier, which is adapted for the treatment of strips or defined short lengths of strip film, comprises a frame-like support and joined thereto suitable holding means, which engage with the edges of the film strip, said holding means being beneficially mounted across said basic frame-like supporting structure in such manner, that all the usable areas of the film strips, with the exception of the edge portions, are free and exposed to the access of the treating solutions, when the carrier is inserted therein. U-channels or H-channels or similar means mounted horizontally or diagonally or preferably vertically on the basic frame structure, were found to be particularly convenient. The said film holding means and particularly the said U- and/or H-channels are advanta geously mounted in parallel fashion on one or both sides of the basic frame structure, so as to provide the maximum utilization of the carrier area for the insertion of the film strips. Additional stops, clamps or clips or other suitable means, such as a horizontal bottom portion, adapted to hold the film strips in place during the treatment are advantageously provided, unless the said film holding means serve this purpose per se.

The various embodiments of the carrier may be designed, as stated, with or without the said guide means. As is readily apparent, the guide means provide the greatest advantage, if the carrier is to be used in the narrow upright treating and wash vessels described herein, particularly if the thickness of the carrier.is only slightly less than the Width of the treating or wash vessels, in which the carrier is to be used. Vertical ribs provided along the vertical ends of the carrier, adapted to slideably engage in corresponding grooves provided in the vertical end walls of the tank or upright treating and/or wash vessels, in which the carrier is to be used, were found to be excellently suited to serve as guide means. Instead of ribs, at least one and preferably a multiplicity of protrusion-like guides provided on each of the vertical ends of the carrier may be used with similarly good advantage. Alternatively, the vertical grooves may be provided in the vertical edges of the carrier and the said vertical ribs or the protrusions or other suitable guides may be provided in the end walls of the tanks or upright vessels, such that they engage slideably in the said grooves in the carrier when it is inserted in the tank or vessels.

The carriers of the present invention are advantageously provided with auxiliary agitating support means adapted to permit automatic mechanical actuation of the carrier while it is contained in the tanks or in the treating or washing vessels. The cross-bar type of agitation support was found to be particularly beneficial, though any of the other types of agitation support de scribed hereinafter or derived therefrom, may likewise be used with great benefit, if the mechanical agitating means are suitably adjusted to the design and construction of the agitation support used in a particular carrier.

The agitation support may directly serve as the means, by which the carrier is forwarded from step to step or from vessel to vessel, respectively, by hand or by automatic forwarding means. It was however found to be more advantageous and convenient, to provide in the carrier of the invention a separate and independent forwarding support, if automatic forwarding is desired. The cross-bar type forwarding support which is advantageously mounted above the agitation support, was found to be most readily adapted to be used with suitable mechanical forwarding means provided in or at the bath in which the multistep treatment is advantageously carried Out.

Further embodiments and modifications of the carrier of the present invention are described in the following detailed description of the invention and in the ac companying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a basic embodiment of the backrest type carrier of the invention.

- FIG. 2 depicts an isometric view of an adjustable backrest carrier.

FIG. 3 represents an isometric view of a modification of the carrier of the invention which is particularly adapted for the use with larger than standard size sheets and FIG. 4 is a side elevation of an adjustable carrier adapted to handle varying sizes of oversized sheets up to double the standard size.

Prefatory to a detailed description of the carrier of the invention and of its utility, some of the more important terms used herein will be explained in order to provide a better understanding of the nature of the invention and of its scope.

The expression standard sheet as used herein is meant to refer to the maximum size of sheet for the .treatment of which the upright vessel and the carrier of the invention are designed. The sheet of this size can be inserted into the upright vessel in generally vertical orientation without the need for folding the sheet. The upright vessel and the carrier are beneficially designed and dimensioned such that they accommodate the standard sheet used in the easel of my copending application Ser. No. 309,199, filed Sept. 16, 1963, now Patent No. 3,280,694.

The carrier of the present invention may be widely used in photographic liquid treatments and especially in the development, fixing and aftertreatment of flexible or rigid photographic positive and negative sheet materials such as films, reversal films, plates and paper base materials. They are especially useful and beneficial in their application to the more recently introduced photographic color processes and they are particularly adapted to the processing of color positive and negative multilayer color sheet and cut films, as well as to the'processing of multilayer positive color printing materials in sheet or out form, particularly those on apaper base such'as ,Kodak Ektacolor Paper.

The term plane as used herein means that the sheet material is substantially flat, falling into a plane or closely approaching this ideal configuration. A slight deflection or curvature in one or more directions does not detract from the operativeness of the process and apparatus of the invention, the same as doubling up the sheet by suitabl folding the sheet.

As is apparent, the plane photographic sheet which will be called hereinafter photographic sheet or sheet is usually inserted into the treating vessel in vertical or in generally vertical orientation.

The embodiment of the carrier of the present invention, employing the concept of the backrest for the photographic sheet material and being particularly adapted to be used for the treatment of limp photographic materials, especially paper backed materials, is illustrated in FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings. The carrier comprises rectangular backrest 830 and horizontal cross bar '831, joined to the top edge of backrest 830, over vertical members 832. Along the vertical edges and the lower horizontal edge of the backrest, are joined channel members 834 to form grooves, which are adapted to receive and hold the photographic sheet, with its sides and lower edges inserted in the channels. Cross bar 831 serves as the agitation support, permitting the use of this embodiment of the carrier in an apparatus like that shown in FIGS. 11 and 12. of the drawings of my Patent No. 3,23 6,649, providing automatic mechanical agitation.

The channels are shown as terminating short of the lower corners of the backrest 830. This arrangement has the advantage that the channels drain readily, when they are removed from the treating bath. Slight tilting of the carrier will readily drain also the lower horizontal channel member which drainage, may also be achieved by the provision of drainage holes along the underside of the channel. The combination of both drainage means with each other or with other suit-able means does further facilitate and expedite the drainage of the carrier between treating steps.

Instead of providing continuous channels as the supports for the edges of the sheet, a multiplicity of short independent lengths of channel sections may be provided along one or both edges of the backrest, offering still more convenient drainage of the carrier, when it is lifted from a treating solution. An identical set of channel members 834 may with advantage be provided on the backside of backrest 830, so as to permit the insertion and simultaneous treatment of a second sheet of photographic material on the carrier.

Rotatable rollers or any of the other guide means, described in my Patent No. 3,236,649, may be provided at or along the vertical edges of the backrest (not shown) to serve as guides for the reciprocation of the carrier in the narrow upright vessel. Alternatively, the channel members 834 may be enlarged or thickened sufficiently to serve the function of the guide means or, if desired, protrusions of the proper elevation may be provided on the free edge 835 of the vertical channel members for the same purpose.

In another modification of this embodiment of the carrier, self-supporting frame members are provided along the edges of'the backrest. This permits the use of thinner and lighter construction materials for the backrest. If the frame members are made to have a width (in a direction perpendicularly to the plane of the backrest) slightly less than the inner width of the vessel, in which the carrier is to be used, the frame members serve directly as the guide means leaving the photographic sheet protected in a recess.

In the utilization of the carrier for the treatment of a photographicmaterial, a sheet or sheets of the material, having the size for which the carrier is designed, is dropped into the grooves formed by the channel members on one side of the backrest or on both sides, if the second set of channel members is provided. Advantageously, the top edge of the sheet is held flat against the backrest by slipping snugly fitting, removable U-clamp 836 over the top edge of the backrest and the upper horizontal margin of the sheet or sheets. When the carrier is inserted into the vessel containing the treating solution, the sheet is wetted and has a tendency to cling to the backrest. This is particularly the case with limp materials such as paper backed photographic materials. With the latter type of material it is of advantage to space the vertical grooves formed by the vertical channel members so that sufiicient leeway for the expansion of the paper-backed sheet in the wet state is provided. This becomes of greater importance as the size of the sheet, for which the carrier is made, increases. The tendency of the paper-backed photographic materials to cling to the backrest can be further increased by the proper selection of the construction material for the backrest and by the preparation of its surface. A slightly roughened or in some instances a smooth plastic surface was found to provide excellent clinging properties for the paper-backed sheets during the various treatments, preventing their rolling or bulging and avoiding damage to the sensitive, soft gelatine surfaces during insertion and agitation of the carrier in the treating solution.

As is apparent, the just described embodiment of the carrier of the present invention is generally suitable for the treatment of the standard sheets of photographic material of one given size, for which they are designed. This makes them particularly useful for the use in combination with the multiexposure easel described and claimed in my copending application Ser. No. 309,199 filed Sept. 16, 1963, now Patent No. 3,280,694.

A modification of the just described carrier employing the backrest principle, may be utilized for the handling of photographic sheet materials of variable sizes. The adjustable backrest carrier is preferably provided with stationary or fixed channel members along its horizontal botton edge and along one of its vertical edges. Adjustability is achieved by making the third vertical channel member horizontally slideable. The slideable channel member may be simply one or more lengths of vertical short channel sections, or a continuous length of a slideable channel section may be provided. If desired, the fixed or stationary vertical channel member may also with advantage be replaced by slideable channel sections or by a slideable channel member.

An embodiment of the backrest carrier, embodying the principle of adjustability, is depicted in FIG. 2. Carrier 840 comprises rectangular backrest 841 and cross-bar 842 joined to the top edge of backrest 841. Along the left vertical edge and along the horizontal lower edge of backrest 841 are joined U-channel sections 843, so as to form along both sides of the respective edges a multiplicity of groove sections, which are adapted to receive and hold sheets of photographic material on both sides of the carrier. Horizontal, rectangular cut-outs 844, in the right section of the backrest, contain slideably rectangular blocks 845 of a slightly thicker material than the backrest. Vertical channel member 846 is fixedly joined to the exposed faces of blocks 845 with the open side of the groove, thus formed, facing the channel sections 843 on the left edge of the backrest. An identical vertical channel member is joined in the same manner to the opposite faces of the rectangular blocks 845 on the backside of the backrest (not shown). As can be readily seen, the assemblage of vertical channel member 846 and rectangular blocks 845 can be readily shifted to any position within the bounds of cut-outs 844. The channel members 846 provided on both sides of the blocks, prevent the blocks from falling out of the rectangular cut-outs, holding them securely and slideably in the carrier.

In the use of this embodiment of the carrier, the operator drops a sheet of any desired size into the carrier and shifts the vertical channel member 846 to the left until the sheet is contained in and held securely by the groove sections at the left and by the groove, formed by vertical channel member 846, resting with its low edge in the groove, formed by channel sections 843 at the bottom edge of the carrier. A second sheet of identical width or length may then be slipped into the supporting means on the back side such that two sheets are simultaneously subjected to the photographic treatment, when the carrier is inserted in substantially vertical orientation in a treating soluion.

Instead of employing in this embodiment of the backrest carrier channel members or channel sections as the supports for the sheet material, any other desired equivalent means which are capable of supporting and holding the sheet material on the backrest carrier may be substituted.

The embodiments of the carrier, as hereinbefore described, are designed to hold one or two standard sheets as desired. The carrier has usually slightly larger overall dimensions than the standard sheet, permitting the treatment of the standard sheets in upright vessels, which are only slightly larger than the standard sheet, thus permitting highest economy in the consumption of treating solutions. Another modification of the backrest-type carrier permits the treatment, in the standard vessel, of a sheet which has up to double the size of the standard sheet. This is achieved by folding the sheet over the top edge of the backrest. In order to avoid the formation of a permanent crease at the fold, a rounded widened bar is advantageously provided on or at the top edge of the backrest. Horizontally adjustable vertical grooves or groove sections of the type described hereinbefore, are provided on both sides of the backrest, so as to hold and support the vertical edges of the folded sheet. The lower horizontal edges of the sheet are advantageously supported and held in place by grooves, formed by channel members or equivalent means provided at the bottom edge of the carrier.

An embodiment of the carrier, specifically adapted to hold the folded oversized sheet, is depicted in FIG. 3 of the accompanying drawings. The carrier 860 comprises backrest 861, the vertical edges of which are joined to vertical guide means 862, which extend from the bottom edge of the backrest 861 to a point above its top edge. Guide means 862 have a width slightly less than the width of the vessel, in which carrier 860 is to be used. Cross bar 863 is joined to the top ends of guide means 862, serving as the agitating support for automatic actuation of the carrier. Member 864, having a pear-shaped cross section, is joined with its thinner cross section pointing downwardly, between the upper ends of vertical guide means 862, onto the upper edge of backrest 861.

On each side of the carrier are pivotably joined, over hinges 865, to the vertical edges of guide means 862 striplike channel members 866. Horizontal channel member 867 is joined to the bottom edge of the backrest 861, so as to form on both sides of the carrier grooves, serving as the holding means for the lower horizontal edges of the folded sheet, when it is inserted and contained on the carrier. Slideable clips 868 are set in the upper portion of guide means 862 in vertical slots 869, such that vertical projections or ears 871, projecting through slots 869 contact and engage with the margins of the inserted sheet when the clips are pushed downward. The clip is made to exert sufiicient friction in the guide means by the provision of pressure plate 870 opposite handle 872. By drawing these members together, the clip remains slideable, yet holds any position into which it is set. Thus, when the clip is pushed all the way down, it keeps the sheet securelyin place by holding the margins against the apex of pear-shaped member 864. The clips 868 may also be secured in the low position by the use of suitable latches or stops. The clips thus serve to prevent, that the sheet works its way upward during treatment and agitation, and prevents that the lower horizontal edges of the sheet slip out of the lower horizontal grooves formed by channel member 867.

Instead of using slideable clips of the just mentioned type, one may substitute any other suitable means, which are capable of preventing the sheet from working its way upward. Examples of such other means are angle clips, which are pivotably set in cut-outs in the guide means by help of hinges. The angled, pivoting ear of the clip, projecting through the cut-out and contained on the inside of the guide means when the clip is pivoted into engaging position with the sheet, has a width slightly less than h unexposed margin of the photographic sheet, the same as in the above described slideable clip, so as to avoid that any portion of the exposed or picture area is covered by the clip. If desired, the ears may be provided with dot- .like projections on the side, contacting the margin of the sheet, when they are in operational position. These projections touch and cover only an extremely small area of the margins, so that treating chemicals may readily diffuse into these areas, preventing undertreatment or other treatment faults also in the margin areas.

For the actual use of the carrier, clips 868 are opened by sliding them upward into the position shown in FIG. 3 and channel members 866 are opened by putting them in the position shown in FIG. 3, so that they are perpendicular to the backrest. The exposed sheet is thereafter inserted, exposed side up, through the opening left between pear-shaped member 864 and cross bar 863. One end of the sheet is thereafter bent downward and the lower horizontal edge of the sheet is inserted in channel member 867 at the bottom of the carrier. Thereafter, pivotable channel members 866, on the same side of the carrier are closed by pushing them toward the sheet. They are held in this position by springs (not shown), forming grooves in which the vertical unexposed margins of the sheet are retained. The other end of the sheet is thereafter bent downward toward the brackrest and the second lower horizontal edge of the sheet is inserted in the horizontal groove, contained on the backside of the carrier at the bottom edge of the backrest 861. After closing pivotable channel members 866 on the backside of the carrier and pushing down clips 868, so that ears 871 of the clips contact and press the unexposed edges of the sheet against the apex of pear-shaped member 864, the carrier, with the sheet held securely thereon yet free to expand and/or contract as the case may be, is now ready for the insertion in a treating liquid. If the carrier is used in an upright vessel, guide means 862 do not only serve the purpose of centering the carrier in the vessel and guiding the carrier, when it is agitated, but they do also prevent that the photographic sheet contacts the walls or edges in the treating vessel, thus safely avoiding damage to the sensitive and soft photographic layer or layers on the photographic sheet.

The just described embodiment of the carrier for the oversized sheet takes, as is readily apparent, only one single size of sheet for which it is specifically made. It need not be mentioned that this carrier, the same as the other fixed size carriers of the invention, is dimensioned so as to provide for the expansion of the paper-backed sheet materials. The carrier may be readily further moditied, so as to permit it to hold oversized sheets of varying size as may be desired. This can be achieved by making the vertical and/ or the horizontal holding means adjustable.

An embodiment of the adjustable, oversize sheet carrier is depicted in FIG. 4 of the accompanying drawings. The carrier 880 comprises backrest 881 with vertical bar-like guide means 882 joined to the vertical edges of the backrest. Guide means 882 extend appreciably beyond the top edges of backrest 881 to form extensions 883. Into the top ends of said extensions 883 is removably set cross bar 884, which serves as the agitating support, and which is held in place by latches 884a. Horizontal support rod 885, having a pear-shaped cross-section, is set in vertically slideable fashion with its thinner cross-section pointing downwardly between vertical sections 883, such that threaded pins 886 and pins 887 protrude through vertical slots 888 provided in extensions 883. Knurled nuts 889 permit the localization of therod 885 in any desired position within the bounds determined by vertical slots 888.

Horizontal slots 890 are provided in the backrest beginning close to its left vertical edges and extending somewhat beyond the center of backrest 881. Vertical channel member 891 is joined over rectangular extension 892 to sliding blocks (not shown), which are slideably contained in the slots 890. In the same manner a vertical channel member with similar extensions is provided on the backside of the backrest. The pair of channel members 891, one each on opposite sides of the backrest 881, is joined together by rivets 893, penetrating through the extensions 892 and the said sliding blocks. Extensions 892 are drawn together by the rivets to provide sufiicient friction with the backrest to hold the vertical channels in any desired position, without however preventing their intentiona-l slideable displacement, as may be needed for adjusting the vertical channel members 891 to the width of the folded sheet, contained or to be placed into the carrier. Channel members 895 joined to the horizontal bottom edge of the backrest 881 to form a horizontal groove on each side of the carrier, serving as the support and holding means for the lower horizontal edges of the folded sheet. To the guide means 882 on the right side of the carrier are joined channel members 894 such that a vertical groove is formed on each side of the carrier, serving as the holding means for one of the vertical edges of the inserted sheet.

To the upper free end of channel member 891 is fixedly joined spacer 896 with screw 897 set therein, and with groove 898 provided on the front face of spacer 896. Into groove 898 is slideably set vertical lever 899 in a vertical plane outside of the pear-shaped rod 885 and with screw 897 penetrating through slot 900 provided in member 899. The top end of lever 899 is bent toward the carrier at a right angle, extending somewhat beyond the plane of the backrest with ear 901 projecting directly above said plane toward the right side of the carrier.

Adjustable holding member 899 serves as the means for securing the sheet on the carrier and to prevent it from working its way upward during the treatment. As is readily apparent, ear 901 is located in such manner that it contacts the left unexposed border of the sheet contained on the carrier, when the lever 899 is pushed downward. By making car 901 very narrow and small, treating chemicals will also diffuse into the narrow sections covered by said ear.

For the insertion of a sheet in this embodiment of the carrier, the operator adjusts the height of pear-shaped rod 885 to that required for the insertion of the size sheet he wants to treat. This is facilitated by the provision of markings and a height indicator at the outside of guide means 882. Thereafter, the' operator inserts and folds the center of the sheet over rod 885 and places the horizontal edges of the sheet into the horizontal bottom grooves formed by channel members 895, and the right edge of the sheet into the grooves formed by vertical channel members 894. The sheet is then further secured by sliding the vertical channel member 891 toward the sheet, such that the vertical left edge of the sheet falls into the groove of channel members 891, yet leaving sufiicient room for expansion of the sheet. The sheet is thereafter secured against working its way upward during the treatment, as a result of the mechanical agitation by sliding lever 899 downwardly, until ear 901 contacts the unexposed margin of the sheet, holding it tightly against pearshaped rod 885. The lever 899 is thereafter secured in this position by tightening knurled screw 897. For theremoval of the treated sheet from the carrier, the operator loosens screw 897, slides the lever 899 upwardly, moves vertical channel member 891 away from the sheet to the left and removes the treated sheet.

- It is desirable in this and in the other backrest type modifications of the carrier to make the grooves in the channel members deep enough, so that the dry paper sheets are safely held in the grooves without being inserted all the way 'to the bottom. This expedient permits the sheet to expand when it is wetted without wrinkling or bulging.

The just described oversize sheet carriers may be further modified and altered by making the bottom channel members vertically adjustable. If both the pear-shaped rod at the top and the bottom channel members are vertically adjustable, the range of sheet size, which may be supported by the carrier is correspondingly larger. Alternatively, the pear-shaped rod may be made stationary and fixed and the required vertical adjustment may be provided solely by vertically shifting the bottom channels and/or the backrest; Instead of providing the required support to the lower horizontal edges of the sheet by channel members and grooves at the bottom as described, the horizontal edges of the sheet may also be held in place by the use of clamps or any other equivalent means.

The oversize sheet carrier may be further modified by reversing the arrangement of the pear-shaped rod such that it is located at the bottom of the carrier with grooves or clips or clamps at the top edge of the backrest.

If clamps are used as the means to secure the horizontal edges of the sheet to the backrest, the vertical grooves or channel members may sometimes be dispensed with. Instead of employing the vertical bar-like guide means illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the guide means may be vertical protrusions joined to the outside edges of the carrier perpendicularly to the backrest, and having a width slightly narrower than the inside width of the low main portion of the upright vessel. If desired, rollers as described hereinbefore, may be provided as the guide means.

The folding type carrier may be used with advantage in the various embodiments of the upright vessel described herein and particularly also with the various embodiments of the reservoir type vessels described in my copending application Ser. No. 342,198, filed Feb. 3, 1964.

Both types of carriers, regardless of the position of the fold, may be used in any of these vessels. Those in which the fold or bend of the sheet is located in the top portion of the carrier may be used with advantage in the extremely narrow reservoir type vessels. The bottom portion of the vessel may be kept to a minimum width, if the reservoir is extended downwardly sufiiciently to contain the upper widened rounded portion of the carrier with the fold of the sheet located thereon in the carrier, when the carrier is lowered all the way down. In this type of vessel, it will naturally be necessary to fill the treating liquid to a level higher up in the reservoir than would be necessary with the standard size carrier, so that the sheet, if it is desired, remains submerged at all times when it is mechanically agitated by raising and lowering it in the vessel. Alternatively, one may use the standard narrow reservoir type vessel and utilize the at least partially filled reservoir for the retention of the treating liquid, and immersing the carrier just sufiiciently to keep the upper widened portion of the carrier at all times in the reservoir.

Using an upright vessel which is adapted to receive a carrier for an 11 x 8 inches sheet, one may readily treat in this vessel, with the utilization of the folding type carrier, an 11 x 14 or 11 x 16 inches sheet. The vessel can be made narrow enough to require, including the quantity of treating liquid contained in the reservoir, one quart or less of treating liquid or, if desired, slightly more, depending on the construction and dimensions of the carrier.

The concept of providing rotatable rollers as the guide means along the outside edges of the vertical frame members of the carrier may with advantage also be employed with any of the other modifications of the carrier of the invention described herein. The rotatable roller means, the same as any of the other embodiments of the guide means of the present invention are, as stated, advantageously dimensioned such that their diameter or width is slightly less than the inside width of the upright vessel, in which the carrier is to be used. If desired, the rollers may advantageously be made removable and exchangeable, so as to permit the substitution of rollers of a size adapted to the width of the particular upright vessel, in which the carrier means are to be used. The various embodiments of the carriers of the invention illustrated or described herein with the guide means may also be constructed without such guide means, if they are not needed e.g. if they are to be used in regular large size developing or treating tanks.

Another advantageous embodiment of the guide means employs the principle of a groove and a guide, engaging slideably in the said groove. The groove is advantageously provided in the end walls of the tank or upright vessel and the guide is provided on or at the outside of the vertical edges of the carrier, though the groove may sometimes also be provided in the vertical edges of certain of the embodiments of the carrier with the guides provided in the end walls of the tank or upright vessels, respectively. The guide may be a vertical rib, extending over the whole length or over part of the vertical ends of the carrier, or it may be in form of at least one and preferably two or more protrusions, spaced along the vertical ends of the carrier. The guides are dimensioned and designed so as to fit slideably into the grooves, permitting vertical actuation of the carrier.

The embodiments of the carriers of the present invention containing the said guide means are particularly adapted to be used in combination with the upright treating or washing vessels in apparatus, providing automatic mechanical agitation. The provision of rotatable rollers at the free ends of the agitation support, such as the above described cross bars, facilitates automatic actuation, particularly when the agitation is provided by a circulating, reciprocating mechanical agitating means, which in addition to a vertical component or sector have also a horizontal component or sector in their reciprocating motion. Such rollers or other rotatable contact means on or at the ends of the cross bar or equivalent agitating support means are naturally not needed, if a substantially vertically reicprocating agitating mechanism is used in the apparatus.

As is readily apparent, the above illustrated and described agitating supports and particularly the cross bar type may serve simultaneously as the forwarding supports, if the forwarding means in the apparatus are accordingly adapted. In this case, with one cross bar or other support serving the said double function, only one support means need be provided.

Besides resistance to the corrosive action of treating liquids other considerations may play an important part in the selection of construction materials for the carriers of the invention. Among the preferred materials are polyelefins, high impact styrene polymers or copolymers and many other synthetic polymers well known in the art, including the heat settable resins. These materials are sufficiently form stable at the temperatures encountered in photographic treating proceses and posses the chemical 1 1 indilference to withstand the corrosive action of most of the treating solutions used in most photographic treating processes. 1

As is readily apparent, the various features illustrated hereinb'efore with specific embodiments of the carrier of the invention may be recombined to form a multitude of new combinations and new embodiments of the carriers of the present invention. Such modifications are, on the basis of the principles and inventive concepts taught hereinbefore, within the skill of the artisan and fall within the ambit and scope of the present invention.

As stated, the guide means, agitation supports, forwarding supports shown in the specific carriers may be omitted or substituted by different modifications and embodiments of these means and supports and recombined in accordan'ce with the concepts of this invention to form new embodiments and modifications of the carrier of the invention, specifically adapted and adjusted to the particular needs to be served by any particular carrier. The basic frame structure and/or backrest of the carrier may be made to be trapezoidal or have any other desired form derived from the basic rectangular form, so as to conform the contours of the various embodiments of treating vessels in which the carrier is to be used.

The agitator and/or forwarding supports may be modified in many ways, so as to adapt them to the operation of any specific agitator and/or forwarding means, with which they are to be used. Their cross section may be round or triangular instead of rectangular, and various modifications or features may be incorporated, so as to assist in localizing the carrier relative to the agitator and/ or forwarding means when they are operatively contained thereon. This may be achieved, for instance, by pointing the apex of the triangular modification of the agitator and/or forwarding bars downwardly, so that they may readily engage in grooves, channels or other equivalent means provided on the agitator and/or forwarding bars. Means may be provided on the agitator and/or forwarding bars, which prevent their lateral displacement when theyare engaged with the agitator and/ or forwarding means. With efiicient provision for the exact localization of the carrier relative to the bath, it is sometimes possible to dispense with the guide means altogether.

As many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, it is understood, that the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments thereof, except as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A carrier for the support of limp, paper backed photographic sheet material during the treatment in a photographic treating solution in an essentially vertical orientation, which carrier comprises a substantially plane backrest having an essentially horizontal top end, an essentially horizontal bottom end and two opposite essentially vertical ends; agitation support means positioned above the top end of said backrest; vertical groove means on both vertical ends and on both sides of said backrest for the retention of the vertical edges of said photographic sheet material, whereby the bottoms of said vertical groove means are spaced from each other across each face of said backrest by a distance which exceeds the horizontal length of the photographic sheet material by an amount, which is at least equal to the amount of horizontal expansion of the photographic sheet material when it is wetted; horizontal groove means extending on both sides of said backrest along the bottom end of said backrest for the retention of the bottom edges of said photographic sheet material; means for the drainage of the said horizontal groove means; and localizing means for the photographic sheet material so as to prevent said photographic sheet material from riding up along the backrest and from sliding out of said groove means during the treatment and agitation of said carrier and photographic material in said treating solution.

2. The carrier of claim 1, in which said means for localizing the sheetsof photographic material are provided removably at the top end of the backrest.

3. The carrier of claim 1, in which said localizing means for the prevention of riding up of the sheets of photographic material on the backrest is removable U- clamp means provided at the top of said backrest.

4. The carrier of claim 1, in which the vertical groove means are provided with lateral protrusions so as to serve as guide means for the spacing of the carrier and of the photographic sheet material from the walls of a narrow upright treating vessel, when the carrier and photographic sheet material is inserted and agitated therein.

5. The carrier of claim 1,-in which said horizontal groove means is made up of a plurality of short lengths of channel sections spaced from each other so as to form openings between them for drainage. 7

6. The carrier of claim 1, wherein one pair of said adjacent vertical groove means, positioned at oneof the vertical ends of the backrest, is slideably mounted for coplanar, horizontal displacement along the face of said backrest, said carrier comprising furthermore means for slideable support of said slideable-vertical groove means, so as to permit adjustment of the distance between the bottoms of said groove means across the face of the backrest. I

7. The carrier of claim 1, in which said backrest comprises in addition two horizontal slots; holding means set slideably in said slots so as to provide sufficient friction for preventing their unintentional displacement, yet permitting positive horizontal displacement of said holding means in said horizontal slots, and slideably mounted groove means, joined, one on either side of the backrest, to said holding means. i

8. The carrier of claim 1, wherein said agitation. support means is a crossbar of-a length greater than the length of said top end of said backrest such that its free ends project outwardly at each side beyond the vertical ends of said backrest.

9. The carrier of claim 8, wherein vertical leg members are joined to the top end of said backrest so as to project upwardly, and wherein the said horizontal crossbar is joined to said leg members so as to form an open ing between the top end of said backrest and said horizontal crossbar.

10. The carrier of claim 9, which comprises in addition horizontal support rod means, having a cross section which is rounded at the bottom, and having a thickness esentially greater than that of the backrest, said horizontal support rod means being positioned below the horizontal bottom end of said backrest, so as to permit support on the carrier of a single oversized sheet of photographic material in folded, doubled up condition.

11. The carrier of claim 9, which furthermore comprises horizontal support rod means, having a cross section which is rounded at the top, and having a thickness essentially greater than that of the backrest, said horizontal support rod means being positioned above the horizontal top end of said backrest, so as to permit support on the carrier of a single oversized sheet of photographic material in folded, doubled-up condition.

12. The carrier of claim 11, in which said support rod means is joined to and integrated with the top end of said backrest.

1.3. The carrier of claim 1, in which said support rod means has a pear shaped cross section with the rounded part at the top.

14. The carrier of claim 11, in which localizing means are provided at said leg members opposite the outer ends of said support rod means for holding the edges of said folded sheet material onto the apex of said supporting rod means, when said localizing means are engaged.

15. The carrier of claim 11, in which said horizontal support rod means is vertically slideably set in a posir tion above said backrest for vertical adjustment; and

means for temporarily fixing the position of the support 1,859,131 5/1932 Depperman 95100 rod means in various heights above said backrest. 2,129,302 9/1938 Current 95100 16. The carrier of claim 15, in which one pair of said 2,465,777 3/1949 Young 95100 vertical groove means is mounted horizontally slideably 2,579,287 12/1951 Albert 95100 on said backrest, One groove means on each side of the 5 2,638,829 5/1953 Singer 95100 backrest; and localizing means for the sheet material 2,902,914 9/ 1959 Dye et al 95100XR provided at one of said horizontally slideable groove 2,915,954 12/ 1959 Deal 95--100 means and at the opposite leg member, such that the 3,054,341 9/ 1962 Wolber 95100 localizing means engage in operating position the adjacent 3,077,155 2/ 1963 Maddox et a1 9598 edges and margins of the folded sheet material, holding 10 it down on the apex of said horizontal support rod. NORTON ANSHER, Primary Examine"- References Cited J. F. PETERS, Assistant Examiner.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,845,800 2/1932 Kreuper 95-1o0 15 

